Larimer County Adopts Electric Vehicle Charging Standards to Meet State Mandate
Larimer County will establish new land use standards for electric vehicle charging stations by December 31, treating the facilities as both principal and accessory uses across multiple zone districts with streamlined administrative approval, officials announced during an October 20 work session.
The changes respond to House Bill 24-1173, which requires Colorado counties to adopt permitting standards for public EV charging projects by year-end. Cassidy Fior, principal planner for Larimer County, told commissioners the code amendments will create an administrative approval process designed to accelerate charging infrastructure deployment throughout unincorporated areas.
"House Bill 24-1173 requires us to adopt land use permitting standards for public charging projects for electric vehicles," Fior said. "We're looking to adopt some code changes to establish electric vehicle charging as a principal use in a lot of zone districts as well as accessory use, and adopt an administrative approval process."
The county must file a compliance report with the state in March 2026 documenting how it satisfied the legislation's requirements, followed by an outcomes report in January 2027 tracking the number of EV charging project applications received and their approval status.
Infrastructure Gaps Highlight Need for Faster Approvals
Larimer County currently has approximately 135 public charging stations, representing 3.6 charging points per 10,000 residents, according to Colorado Department of Transportation infrastructure assessments. The density falls below Boulder County's 4.2 points per 10,000 people and reflects substantial gaps in meeting projected 2030 charging needs.
More than 6,000 electric vehicles are registered in Larimer County as of mid-2025, with double-digit annual growth rates outpacing infrastructure additions, according to CDOT's National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure plan. The county meets less than 30 to 40 percent of projected public charging requirements for 2030 under the state's high-growth scenario.
Weld County shows even more pronounced infrastructure shortfalls, with approximately 65 public charging stations serving roughly 350,000 residents. The 1.8 charging points per 10,000 people ranks substantially below peer Front Range counties of similar size including Boulder, Larimer and El Paso.
Colorado received $57 million in federal NEVI funding between 2022 and 2027 specifically for DC fast charger construction along major travel corridors. State and local officials identified Interstate 25, U.S. Highway 34 and other key routes through Larimer and Weld counties as priority deployment areas, though not all planned sites are operational as of October 2025.
Streamlined Permitting Expected to Reduce Project Delays
Prior to HB 24-1173, Colorado municipalities faced inconsistent and lengthy approval processes for EV charging stations that sometimes stretched several months, according to the Colorado Energy Office. Many local codes required special reviews or public hearings for charging infrastructure, increasing project costs and uncertainty particularly near residential or mixed-use areas.
California's 2015 law requiring administrative approval for EV charging stations reduced median permitting times from approximately 30 days to five to 10 days while doubling completed installations in many jurisdictions, according to International Code Council data. Washington state and New York implemented similar reforms with comparable results.
A study by RMI and ICF across multiple states found that administrative review processes reduced average approval timelines from more than 20 business days to fewer than seven business days, directly correlating to 30 to 50 percent increases in annual charger deployments.
Larimer County's proposed administrative approval would eliminate discretionary board reviews for charging stations meeting objective land use standards, instead allowing staff-level signoff if projects satisfy checklist requirements.
Installation Costs and Available Funding Sources
Level 2 charging stations typically cost $4,000 to $7,000 per port for hardware, with installation expenses ranging from $5,000 to $15,000 depending on site complexity, according to the Colorado Light-Duty Vehicle Electrification Roadmap. DC fast charging stations require $35,000 to $70,000 per port for equipment and $50,000 to $100,000 or more for installation due to significant electrical upgrades.
Multiple funding sources exist to offset these costs for businesses and municipalities. The federal Inflation Reduction Act's Section 30C tax credit covers up to 30 percent of total project costs with a maximum of $100,000 per site. The credit can be monetized through transferability or direct pay options for non-taxable entities including local governments.
Colorado's Charge Ahead grants provide up to $9,000 per Level 2 port and up to $50,000 per DC fast charging port, with higher cost-share percentages for corridor gap locations and disproportionately impacted communities, according to the Colorado Energy Office.
Xcel Energy offers cost-sharing for site upgrades and rebate incentives ranging from $2,000 to $7,500 for Level 2 installations, with higher amounts for DC fast chargers in Northern Colorado service areas. Poudre Valley REA and other regional utilities provide additional rebates covering make-ready and grid upgrade costs.
With moderate usage rates of five to 15 charging sessions daily, Level 2 stations typically achieve cost recovery in five to eight years, while DC fast chargers require higher throughput or substantial grant funding to reach positive cash flow, according to charging network operator business models.
County to Present Full Code Changes in Coming Weeks
The Planning and Zoning Commission will review the complete EV charging code amendments at its November meeting before making a recommendation to the Board of County Commissioners. Rebecca Everett, community development director, told commissioners the county has scheduled the amendments for final commissioner action in December to meet the state's year-end deadline.
The EV charging standards are part of a broader package of land use code updates tied to recent state legislation. Other changes include an expedited review process for affordable housing projects required by Proposition 123, elimination of minimum parking requirements near transit centers, updates to non-functional turf grass planting restrictions, and revised tree mitigation requirements.
Commissioner John Kefalas asked planning staff whether additional presentation time would help commissioners understand the full scope of the EV charging changes before they advance to formal hearings. Everett said staff would provide detailed materials ahead of upcoming work sessions and could schedule extended presentations if commissioners request additional information.
The county's outcomes report due to the state in January 2027 will document how many EV charging project applications Larimer County received in 2026, how many were approved or denied, and average processing timelines under the new administrative approval system.
Contact Cassidy Fior through the Larimer County Community Development Department at larimer.gov for questions about the electric vehicle charging infrastructure land use standards.